Spatial order of tourist cities
The expert team of Pracownia Zmiany has supported the ‘Flins’ Association in preparing comments on the change project Study of Conditions and Directions of Spatial Development in the City of Świeradów-Zdrój.
The project study of the conditions and directions of spatial development of the commune was made available for public viewing at the beginning of 2022. Świeradów Zdrój is one of 45 officially recognized health resorts, as well as a tourist destination located in the Jizera Mountains. This manifests in a set of very specific conditions and requires gentle balancing between the interests of the residential community and the visiting guests.
Our foundation helped to evaluate the proposed provisions. Our main goal was to include sustainable model elements in city development, i.e. ensuring high-quality tourist services while taking into account the residents’ quality of life, as well as landscape and nature protection. The study analysis took place in a broader territorial context of Świeradów and the surrounding area, including resident positions expressed in petitions.
In recent years, we have observed increased development pressure on tourist destinations, which often results in chaotic construction, infrastructure deficiencies and, consequently, degradation of the natural landscape and recreational values of such cities. We encourage local governments of tourist communes to prepare long-term development strategies and planning solutions based on extensive analyses, consultations, and expert recommendations. We believe that a well-written development plan can bring benefits to all parties involved – residents, tourists, local governments and entrepreneurs. It is high time to change the culture of spatial planning in smaller cities and towns for the better.
We hope that these theses will be taken into account in the new Study, and Świeradów-Zdrój will become the blueprint for combining tourist services with high residential values.
Our foremost postulates are:
- limiting designated tourist development areas to enable housing and infrastructure capacity building dedicated to the residents in order to stop their migration
- limiting large-scale tourist investments and placing the historical panorama under conservation in order to protect the unique landscape as well as the natural values of the city
- restricting the construction of underground floors in order to preserve unique, valuable radon water supplies
- expanding the scope of designated health-oriented areas to improve the quality of spa services
- ensuring sufficient technical infrastructure which is necessary for residents service and tourist traffic
- limiting the transformation of agricultural land under new developments in order to avoid urban sprawl and land speculation
- conducting demographic and tourist traffic analyses, allowing for a realistic assessment of the city’s development needs.
Please find the full version of our draft study recommendations on the conditions and directions of spatial development in Świeradów Zdrój below:
Świeradów Zdrój – draft study recommendations (PDF).